Victoria eyes 8 pc growth in Indian tourist arrivals in 2017

Victoria, which is known as an education hub of Australia, is planning to woo Indian visitors as a leisure destination with its finest culinary and experiences.
"Victoria offers the finest culinary, wine, experiences, cafe culture, night life among others. It gives travellers a glimpse of Australia's city culture. In 2016, 1,17,000 Indians visited Victoria and looking at the current trend, we expect to grow by eight per cent this year," Visit Victoria Regional Manager, South and South East Asia, Celia Ho told PTI here.
She said, faster visa processing and direct connectivity is also helping boost the tourism traffic from India.

"As direct air connectivity is a positive boost for the tourism industry we are working closely to seek how to have more direct flights from India to Australia," she said.
Victoria is aiming a wide age group between 25-55 year of affluent travellers from cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai.
"We are mainly aiming for family, honeymooners, DINK (double income no kids) and young single travellers. We are looking for affluent travellers who can spend more from the four cities, however, with digital promotion we expect to have a wider reach," Ho said.

Indians, she said, are also big spenders while travelling.

"People from India are among the top five big spenders in Victoria and spend an average of 4,500 Australian dollar (AUD) per person. Indians love spending on accommodation, transport, food, experiences and attractions and shopping," she added.
Ho said, Victoria is mainly being promoted as an leisure and meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) destination.